August 14, 2025—The Kell Longhorns played the second football game in the state of the 2025 season—and one of the first games in the country—last night at The Stockyard, Kell's home stadium. There was a lot of excitement leading up to it, including the first game of the new season, lightning strikes, game delays, and a deluge of rain.
The Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic marks the beginning of high school football in Georgia. Now in its 34th year, the Classic has grown in size and scope and includes 11 games this year, played at five different locations. The first two games were played at Kell last night, and the last four will be held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday. A notable matchup at MBS for Cobb fans is Walton and McEachern, with a 4 pm kickoff. It will be broadcast live on Peachtree Sports Network and streamed on NFHS Network.
As can always be expected in Georgia around this time of year, tropical storms from the south made gameplay difficult. The first game of the Classic, Prince Avenue Christian and Callaway, experienced hot field temps in the first quarter, cooler air in the second, and rain and lightning by halftime. Play was suspended for nearly an hour and then again partway through the third quarter. The game was finally resumed around 9 pm. Prince Avenue found inspiration during the weather break and blanked Callaway once play resumed to take the win, 40-17.
Kell's matchup with South Paulding was scheduled to begin at 8 pm, but didn't get underway until nearly 9:45 p.m. The final whistle didn't come until 12:15 am Thursday, which made for a long day for both teams. The Longhorns tallied 21 unanswered points before a Spartan kickoff return in the second quarter finally brought life to the South Paulding fans. It was short-lived, though. Longhorn QB Kaleb Narcisse fired off three TD passes before halftime—two to Brayden Rouse and an absolute laser to Nathan Agyemang—to put the game out of reach at intermission, 34-7.
In an impressive performance, Narcisse was 13-18, and RB Moonie Gipson ran for nearly 200 yards and two TDs. It was just the kind of start to the season that head coach Bobby May wanted for his 7th-ranked 4A team. "We're tough, physical, and we fly around on defense, and we've got explosive players on offense," he said after the game. "It's always great to win game one, and we're looking forward to next week. It was a great start for us."
The Longhorns will host Alpharetta next week. Here's to hoping the weather cooperates and the game won't take two days to play. Great work, Kell Longhorns!!
Photos courtesy Sykotyk Football/pafootballnews.com
